The Vegetable Gardener's Diary during August (Late summer)
August is yet another busy month in the vegetable garden. This is the time when you are reaping the rewards of your hard labour during the spring months. There are plenty of home grown vegetables to be picked, and many people start to collect glass jars for preserving their produce for later consumption.
August is the time to:
Prepare
- Dig over any empty spaces that have ceased to produce any further crops
Sow Outdoors
- Spring cabbages
- Spinach
- Cress
- Oriental salad leaves
Harvest
- French beans
- Runner beans
- Celery
- Red cabbage
- Courgettes
- Peas
- Broad beans
- Spinach
- Summer cabbages
- Cauliflowers
- Tomatoes
- Lettuce
- Aubergines
- Peppers
- Chillies
- Potatoes
- Onions
- Shallots
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Turnips
- Beetroots
Things to do in the vegetable garden during August
- Deadhead flowering herbs
- Sow green manure crops in any plot that will not be used for the next six weeks or more. Green manure crops are fast growing, and are grown specifically to be dug back into the soil. Green manure crops such as alfalfa, cress and mustard are ideal for breaking up the soil, whereas clover and vetch both enrich the soil with nitrogen when cut down and dug back in.
- Weed and water regularly, especially through dry spells
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The August Vegetable Garden in the UK... 
